for editor: I remember reading that Seneca died not by suicide, but by first slitting his wrists -- and not dying -- before he then went to the bath and died by chocking on the steam, is his death reason controversial?
“Study Death Always”: Seneca’s advice for living centered on dying
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Re: “Study Death Always”: Seneca’s advice for living centered on dying
#22For some reason HN has been mimetically pulled into the seneca philosophy. Just so you guys know, there are many many many other philosophies and really great books about ways to look at life and how to live it than just stoicism. Don't let something as important as a life philosophy be steered by social media influencer culture. Take some time to read from sources outside your filter bubble. Your 70 year old self wi…
Can you suggest few readings?
I like Nietszche, Emerson (especially 'Self-Reliance'), Walt Whitman and the Tao Te Ching. For fiction Zorba the Greek and Dune are two of my favorites.
Re: “Study Death Always”: Seneca’s advice for living centered on dying
#23[deleted]
Re: “Study Death Always”: Seneca’s advice for living centered on dying
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you suggest few readings?
The Bible edit: For those of you down voting me for whatever reason, can you at least contribute to the discussion and explain how my answer was a poor one? The bible is one of the greatest stories ever told containing a myriad of different ways at looking at life.
I think a big factor is that many people here are surrounded by people who are steeped in Biblical culture, yet living objectively terrible lives. The dominant religious narrative of any culture is inevitably corrupted by temporal pressures.
Also, while I agree there are many valuable lessons to be learned from the Bible, the New Testament is not a book for people who strive for wealth, and HN attracts strivers. Not to say you can't be a Christian and strive for wealth, but the striving is going to come from some other part of your life, and it's going to force you to compartmentalize Christian values to some extent. Seneca, on the other hand, was unapologetically wealthy, and his philosophy was consistent with that.
Re: “Study Death Always”: Seneca’s advice for living centered on dying
#25I've been an avid reader of Stoicism, and was introduced to it by, you guessed it, Tim Ferriss. I have been conciously trying to adopt the philosophies and mantras into my day to day life.
Have compiled the following tangible techniques/approaches to thought feel free to add your own:
* Premeditatio Malorum (premeditation of evils or Negative Visualization) * Stoic Fork - Make the best use of things in your control and let nature handle the rest * Temporary Ownership - Never think of things you own as yours, merely borrowing from the universe (recycle) * Superficial Experimentation - Put yourself through situations that warrant ridicule in order to become resistant to it * Worse Case Scenario Simulation - Set aside a certain number of days to eat the cheapest food and cheapest clothing asking yourself: is this the condition I so feared? Make yourself uncomfortable * Only be ashamed of things worth being ashamed of; inoculate against superficial attachment in what others think * Planned Fasting * Planned Cold * Planned Poverty * Planned Ugly Clothing * Context Shifting - Cosmic relativism; remember you’re going to die and the world will keep turning * Growth mindset - praise yourself for the work not the result; challenge creates growth * Remove Distractions - am I afraid of death because I won’t be able to do THIS anymore ? If it’s no, then Remove the conveniences. * Opinions to actions - opinions are fine to have and express if they are followed by action but you shouldn’t have an opinion to have an opinion * Default to action - action before talking; so what needs to be done instead of “I should” * Daily quote meditation - take a stoic quote and reflect on how to apply it to your life everyday * Stoic Mindfulness - be in the moment; be attentive to what’s happening * Daily reflection journal - what did I do right ? What did I do wrong? What could I have done better? * Art of Aquiescence
Re: “Study Death Always”: Seneca’s advice for living centered on dying
#26for editor: I remember reading that Seneca died not by suicide, but by first slitting his wrists -- and not dying -- before he then went to the bath and died by chocking on the steam, is his death reason controversial?
It's more his life rather than his death that's controversial. During his life he chose to serve Nero, one of Rome's bloodiest tyrants, and profited greatly from his service. To some that has seemed rather hypocritical for someone who preached a life of self-denial, detachment from worldly things, and distance from rulers and politics.
In Seneca's defense, some have pointed out that he tried to moderate Nero and steer him towards the path of virtue, though he ultimately failed.
Re: “Study Death Always”: Seneca’s advice for living centered on dying
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you suggest few readings?
The Bible edit: For those of you down voting me for whatever reason, can you at least contribute to the discussion and explain how my answer was a poor one? The bible is one of the greatest stories ever told containing a myriad of different ways at looking at life.
A particularly important read concerning the meaning of life is the book of Ecclesiastes. It tells of Solomon’s great experiment of finding meaning in knowledge, pleasure, wealth, accomplishment, etc..
I am often bewildered by those who pour a great deal of energy in planning for retirement and ignoring the fact that they will soon thereafter be pushing up daisies. Death awaits us all.
Re: “Study Death Always”: Seneca’s advice for living centered on dying
#28For some reason HN has been mimetically pulled into the seneca philosophy. Just so you guys know, there are many many many other philosophies and really great books about ways to look at life and how to live it than just stoicism. Don't let something as important as a life philosophy be steered by social media influencer culture. Take some time to read from sources outside your filter bubble. Your 70 year old self wi…
Can you suggest few readings?
- Tao Te Ching, especially LeGuin's translation
- Finite & Infinite Games (J.P. Carse)
- Man's Search for Meaning
Re: “Study Death Always”: Seneca’s advice for living centered on dying
#29The project I run, Standard Ebooks, has all of Seneca's dialogs available for free for your ereader: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/seneca/dialogues/aubrey-st...
If you're interested in Stoic philosophy, Marcus Aurelius is also an excellent read: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/marcus-aurelius/meditation...
Stewart's Seneca translation is admittedly not a super great one, but it does the job. Long's Marcus Aurelius translation is very solid though.
Re: “Study Death Always”: Seneca’s advice for living centered on dying
#30I think the specialization of our society has really cost us in terms of becoming acquainted with death. My career path (military, medicine, pathology) has brought me in closer contact with death than most. And I'm a huge fan of Stoicism. Have read everything from Epictetus, Seneca, Aurelius. The act of witnessing death, the event itself, has had a profound centering effect. Be careful with the arrow of causality her…
Thinking about death in a healthy way is a good idea, which is what exposing yourself to it would do.